|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
| Reviews Summary for ACE-HF HF Propagation Simulation and Visualisation Software |
|
Reviews: 5
|
Average rating: 4.8/5
|
MSRP: $99 / 129 (Pro)
|
|
Description: ACE (Animated Communications Effectiveness) provides HF ham radio propagation predictions for the 1.8-30 MHz bands, displays area coverage from designated transmitters and receivers, and determines circuit quality and best frequency for groups of circuits to any location.
|
|
More info: http://www.acehf.com
|
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this review.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
|
You can
write your own review of the ACE-HF HF Propagation Simulation and Visualisation Software.
|
I2DMI
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 16, 2007 13:21
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
complete software
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I'm very happy. The software is great. When I needed help Dick answered very quickly. Support 5/5!
I recommend it.
Frank
I2DMI
|
|
VK2HTI
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Aug 4, 2007 16:06
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Extremely useful software!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Have been using ACE-HF for about two weeks now, and have been nothing short of very impressed with the quality and features of this software, and I've barely scratched the surface of what it can do.
I would have no trouble recommending it to anyone.
73 de Will VK2HTI
|
|
NW7US
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jul 18, 2006 15:11
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Some extensive reviews have been posted on-line...
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I first reviewed ACE-HF a few years ago, in CQ Magazine, in the Propagation column. I've reviewed it again, now that version 2.05 is released (2006).
I've now posted a collection of reviews (one from the Amateur Radio perspective, one from the Shortwave Listening perspective, and other articles that dig a bit deeper into topics of which ACE-HF is involved in.
These reviews are all collected at:
http://hfradio.org/ace-hf/
Overall, this really is a great package for the price. The previous versions did have the inconvenience of grabbing the entire screen/windows. No longer. Now it is much easier to run other programs along with ACE-HF (version 2.05). There are a lot of other additions.
One thing of noteworthiness: the makers of ACE-HF have funded the latest work on VOACAP, which has been incorporated into this newest version of ACE-HF.
Check out my full reviews.
|
|
ZS1AN
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Dec 10, 2005 12:57
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
This is my second review, but a number of changes have been made between version 2.00.1, which I originally reviewed, and the current version (2.04.1S). Nothing earth shattering, but the product is now rock solid. The sizes of the main windows are still fixed, but this is not a great inconvenience.
I've been using the product now for two years, including one DXpedition (ZS1RBN to Robben Island) and numerous contests. The ability to show on a map the geographical areas that will be "open" at each time of day on each amateur band is a revelation. In contests, it allows me to plan my "on" and "off" periods and operating bands in advance.
I usually also keep ACE-HF running in the background during the actual contest, to compare the predictions against actual conditions so I can make the necessary mental adjustments and strategy changes as propagation dictates. Of course you can also "roll it forward" to show what conditions are likely to be like later in the day. Or to check when 10m will be open to Europe, to get some new multipliers on that band. There's also a nice beacon chart showing which beacons are active, and whether they should be audible.
Support is first class, and two and a half years after purchasing the product, I'm still able to upgrade to the latest version for free.
If you've only used "point to point" (circuit based) propagation software, then ACE-HF will be a revelation.
|
|
ON4SKY
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Sep 26, 2004 03:42
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Dynamic predictions !
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Hi,
ACE stands for "Animated Communications Effectiveness", a coverage display technique originally developed for U.S. Navy submarine communications.
Written for Windows 32-bit by Richard Buckner, this program uses GeoClock maps, a format that has been choosen in order to match the displays with ACE-VLF used by military clients.
ACE-HF Pro uses the VOACAP engine without modification of algorithms (thus with the same accuracy and limitations), and can be interfaced with GeoClock and a logging software. It can simultaneously calculate several circuits, each using up to five antennas at each end of each circuit, an option asked by contesters using "antenna farms" on as many as five bands.
Some data are extracted from external files like antennas and locations that list 35000 cities world-wide and calls several other programs.
Representing about 50 MB on disk, 500 files and 50 directories, it is thus not available for demo purposes due to its size.
Its main originality over all other VOACAP-based programs is to display animated circuit graphs of SNR, reliability, required power gain, takeoff angle and signal strength. To achieve this, ACE-HF Pro employs cubic spline interpolation to produce chart values at five-minute intervals in order to better describe what happens in the real world. Of course these intermediate values show less precision that hourly predictions. Several charts can also be displayed, to name the MUF (with HPF and FOT), Best Frequency, and an SNR or reliability summary chart.
The input screens have been redesigned since version 1.0 and look great even if they show some "adaptations" due to the underlying Delphi engine that scales differently according to resolutions and operating systems. The world map is fully graphical, using EGA or BMP image which colors are a little too bright due to the use of GeoClock, ACE' standard interface.
Among additional tools, ACE-HF provides HFANT to model antennas, a beacon monitoring showing the strength of their signal and reliability, and an interface for NEC-Win Plus from Arraysolutions.
The product in without any doubt as powerful as its competitors and maybe more flexible. Indeed, on request, right-clicking on the mouse most parameters can be displayed in a pop-up window and changed without having to enter in each submenu of the circuit or only partially.
The program comes with an extended help file, very complete and sorted by feature, but it is non contextual (you cannot press F1 and get help on a field) and you need to browse the document to find a specific item. It should be converted in Microsoft HLP format and fully indexed to be really useful as not all users will take the time to read its 46 pages, even if they are very educative and their reading highly recommended.
In this context the narrative mode can help the casual amateur.
ACE-HF Pro runs on all Windows 32-bit plateforms and is now at version 2.04. It is provided on CD-ROM (with VOACAP) and a 3.5" floppy disk containing the transmitter location file (your license) that will be copied onto disk during the install procedure.
Compared to equivalent functions available to its competitors and its GUI, in my humble opinion the high price of ACE-HF Pro is no more justified, but exceptionally it keeps its four stars for its excellent animation using GeoClock map, a very original concept that no other publisher provides, and the great number of users, most professionals that trust in this product and the other prediction programs released by the publisher.
No demo available due to its size. However, an extensive "Take the tour" section is provided on the website as well as free and very instructive propagation tutorials written by Dick Buckner and George Lane.
License. Comes with VOACAP. For all Windows 32-bit plateforms.
73
Thierry
http://www.astrosurf.com/lombry
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
